LAST LEGS: Campaigns debate whether dying dog tracks should be put down

Friday

Oct 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMOct 31, 2008 at 8:19 PM

State records show gamblers have bet less and less money on dog racing over the past decade at Raynham Park, which could face closure by 2010 if Question 3 on Tuesday’s ballot passes.

Jessica Scarpati

Should an ailing industry be euthanized or allowed a natural death? State records show gamblers have bet less and less money on dog racing over the past decade at Raynham Park, which could face shutdown by 2010 if Question 3 on Tuesday’s ballot passes.

If the greyhound track were a sick patient, its prognosis would be grim.

Live video simulcasting, which allows betting on horse races broadcast from afar, has picked up some of the slack, but not enough.

Overall revenues for the track have fallen all but one year since 1998, amounting to a 25 percent drop by 2007.

Meanwhile, records show the amount bet on live dog racing has plummeted by 61 percent over a decade, and it has made up a smaller percentage of the handle, or total amount bet, each year.

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“An argument could be made that any alleged harm the industry is causing (won’t matter) because it’s moving toward self-extinction,” said Jon Bryan, an economy professor at Bridgewater State College.

This “dying industry” claim is cited often by those trying to end greyhound racing, the Committee to Protect Dogs, arguing less money made means less money to care for dogs.

“Especially because this is a dying industry, it’s necessary to put the least amount in to get the most amount out,” said Christine Dorchak, the group’s co-chairwoman.

Track supporters deny any suggestion of animal mistreatment, but they also argue voters should not decide its future — nor the livelihood of its workers.

Glenn Totten, campaign manager for the Massachusetts Animal Interest Coalition, the group opposing the measure, said the “industry in decline” argument is what is actually inhumane.

“I can say the same thing about the newspaper industry. I can say the same thing about the American automobile industry. I can say the same thing about virtually the entire manufacturing sector,” he said.

“Does that mean that you throw the people who still make their living out of work because the industry no longer produces the revenue it once did?” Totten asked.

The handle at the track in 1998 was $172.3 million, and dog racing made up $64.7 million, or 38 percent, of the bets, according to the State Racing Commission. By 2007, the handle fell to $129 million, and dog racing made up $25 million, or 19 percent, of bets.

Despite the decline in business, track owner George Carney has maintained that he has not laid off any employees.

“If somebody retires, we may not replace them, but there’s been nobody that’s lost their job here because of a cutback in business,” Carney said.

Over the years, the track has been relying more on simulcast betting for profit, as betting on live dog racing has declined.

The simulcast money is divided in state records as “signal received,” or money bet on horse racing at Raynham Park, and “signal sent,” which represents bets made on Raynham dog racing from afar.

Although the track has leaned more on simulcasting over the years — seen in the dwindling percentage of bets made on dog racing at the track — little has changed in simulcast betting.

The total simulcast bets have bobbed up and down from a $93 million low and a $136 million high between 1998 and 2007.

Every year, the divide between on-track betting and off-track betting has been about a 60-40 split — suggesting that although fewer people want to bet on Raynham dogs in Raynham, tastes haven’t changed much elsewhere.

So, what is it about Raynham Park that is killing its business? Some would say its lack of slot machines.

A bill to introduce slots at all Massachusetts racetracks has twice failed, but state Rep. David L. Flynn, D-Bridgewater, has vowed to introduce the bill again in January.

“It’s not doing as well as it once did, but that’s only because we haven’t allowed them to compete,” said state Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton.

State gambling expert the Rev. Richard McGowan, a Boston College business professor, predicted dog racing would likely be on the outs, even if Question 3 fails.

“There’s a little bit of irony here,” McGowan said. “Even if they lose this vote ... there could very easily be no dog track because nobody is making any money off (them).”

Jessica Scarpati can be reached at jscarpati@enterprisenews.com.

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